Parents drop off their students at Abbot Elementary School for the start of the 2015-16 school year. In 2015, 23 percent of Michigan students attended school at a charter school or another public school district outside where they live.

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - Just one thing - a negative interaction with a teacher or a chance to take a unique Spanish class - and suddenly a student and the roughly $7,300 in state funding that goes with them are headed to a different school.

In 2015, approximately 23 percent of Michigan's public school students did not attend school in their home district, instead opting to enroll in another traditional public school or a charter school, according to MLive's analysis of state data. The data does not include students who attend private schools or are homeschooled.

Swapping students can create a competitive environment among schools, which some say raises the bar in quality of education and others argue distracts from the central mission schools should have to educate all students.

Even parents who take advantage of the options afforded them through Schools of Choice and charter schools feel conflicted about the impact their decision has on their home school districts.

"I can't sacrifice my children for the sake of supporting my local schools," said Colleen Brewer, 45, a single mother of two boys who attend South Arbor Charter Academy in Ypsilanti. "My job is to raise kids. I'm going to do what's best for my kids. Sorry they trump the community, as much as I love the community."

Brewer's sons - now going into eighth grade and fifth grade - started their school careers at Ann Arbor's Carpenter Elementary School. Brewer felt her oldest son's needs for extra support in reading weren't being met, and her younger son had trouble getting along with other students and teachers at the school.

Three years ago, they transferred to South Arbor, where Brewer says they've found a better fit and a stronger sense of community. South Arbor is a K-8 school, so Brewer's sons will have to transfer somewhere else for high school. They're considering Ann Arbor Public Schools because the boys' father lives in the district, or Brewer thinks a middle college program where they can earn college credits while in high school is attractive.

At the time she pulled her sons out of Carpenter Elementary, Brewer considered transferring her boys to Ypsilanti Community Schools, but after reading about the consolidation of two struggling districts to form YCS, she didn't think that was the right choice for her family.

"It would have been different if my kids were at level or exceeding, but they were already behind. I can't see taking my kid who's already struggling and putting them in a struggling district," Brewer said, adding that she felt pressure from other parents to enroll her children in their home district. "Why not go to one of the best schools in Michigan? It's right there. It just made sense."

Enrollment at YCS has been hit especially hard by nearby charter schools. In 2015, 7,350 public school students lived in the Ypsilanti school district, but only about half of them attended YCS. The district drew 289 non-resident students, but lost 2,558 of its residents to charter schools and another 1,395 resident students to other traditional public school districts.

Losing 50 percent of its potential student body ranks YCS No. 8 in the state for largest net loss to school choice. In 2009 - before Ypsilanti public schools merged with Willow Run - Ypsilanti schools lost 13 percent of its student body to other school districts.

Tyrone Bridges, 47, an Ypsilanti resident, thinks the consolidation that formed YCS drove away a lot of families, and he believes there's been a lack of opportunity for parent input in how the district's challenges are addressed since the merger. Bridges volunteered in Ypsilanti Community High School in the aftermath of the consolidation, and his son attended Ypsilanti's New Tech High School.

"I (saw) the chaos and the drama in that school before my son got to high school," Bridges said, adding that his eight older children all graduated from Ypsilanti schools.

In his sophomore year, Bridges' youngest son - now 17 - felt threatened by a teacher, and Bridges couldn't get the resolution he sought with school staff to remedy the situation. That spring, his son transferred to Belleville High School, where he will graduate this coming school year. Bridges drives him down the road from where they live to a Belleville Schools bus stop.

"That was the final, final, final straw," said Bridges, who graduated from Ypsilanti High School in 1987. "I really wish they'd get it together because it's sad. As alumni, we value that our kids graduate from the same school that we did."

Tameka Charmayne Wiley-Reed's two daughters are enrolled in different school districts. Her 16-year-old daughter attends Salem High School in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district, where the family lives. Her 7-year-old daughter is about to start third grade in Lincoln Consolidated Schools' Spanish immersion program at Bishop Elementary School, where she has been enrolled since kindergarten.

Wiley-Reed was drawn to Lincoln Schools for the chance to have her daughter learn a second language at a young age, which is a priority for Wiley-Reed. The family is exploring its options for other schools that will allow the girl to continue her Spanish-speaking through middle school and high school.

Edward Reed, Wiley-Reed's husband, was hesitant about having their child attend school outside their home district.

"I think it's just the benefit of being in community," Wiley-Reed said. "Sometimes he feels like our youngest daughter is disconnected because she doesn't go to school with the kids in the neighborhood."

Overall, Wiley-Reed has been pleased with the Spanish immersion program, although she worries sometimes whether Lincoln Schools will be able to sustain it financially. Lincoln was operating in deficit in recent years, though the district's financial status stabilized in the 2015-16 school year.

Losing 28 percent of its resident student population to other districts or charter schools in 2015 - up from 19 percent in 2009 - also has taken a toll on Lincoln's bottom line.

Wiley-Reed says she finds herself trying to compensate for the fact her daughter benefits from a school district her family doesn't support with their tax dollars. They make a donation to the school each year, and she works with other parents to try to fulfill the teacher's wish list for additional supplies.

She drives her daughter to school each day, which adds about five hours to her commute time each week when the weather is good and traffic is clear. Wiley-Reed acknowledged not all families have the means to do that.

"I do recognize that I'm kind of a quote-unquote 'outsider' pulling from their resources (at Lincoln Schools)," Wiley-Reed said. "I hope that as we talk about school choice it doesn't become short sighted where a school district can become kind of lopsided. ... I get concerned that it may have people not focused on kind of taking care of home."

Liz Dahl MacGregor's two children also will attend two different schools in 2016-17, and she shares some of the same concerns as Reed.

Her son - who is now going into fourth grade - started his educational career in Ypsilanti schools, and the year of the district consolidation she transferred him to Ann Arbor Learning Community for first grade. She previously had concerns about class sizes and her son fitting in socially at his school, which also factored into her decision.

"For his personality, it worked better for him to be in a smaller class environment and a more forgiving class environment," she said.

Dahl MacGregor's younger daughter joined her brother at AALC, a K-8 charter school in Ann Arbor, but she will start second grade at the new Ypsilanti International Elementary School this school year. Dahl MacGregor, 41, appreciates the International Baccalaureate curriculum the international school will offer, and she thinks this is a good opportunity to get her child back in a traditional public school.

"It's important to us to be in our community schools," Dahl MacGregor said, adding that she lives in Ypsilanti because she wants to raise her children in a diverse environment. "It's an important part of being a part of our community, so we're trying to get back in those schools."

While a charter school proved to be a good option for her son, Dahl MacGregor also thinks school choice can undercut the trust parents and teachers need to have in each other. Rather than invest in a long-term relationship, families will switch schools when they're unsatisfied with a situation.

"I do question ... if we didn't have school choice if we wouldn't have stayed and advocated for changes in our own school district," she said. "To some extent I think school choice makes that harder."